#MIPinPERSPECTIVE

What's New(s)?

If you want to know what informs our work, you’ve come to the right place. #MIPinPerspective are the articles, stories, and videos that inspire our mission, vision, and core values. We post links to content from all over the internet and we trend these items through our social media platforms. Enjoy!

For nonprofits, the benefits of optical diversity are appealing as a response to pressure from funders and a way to build credibility in their communities. However, these organizations exist within a larger societal framework where racism is the standard both in and out of the workplace. Many nonprofits use charitable dollars to fight racial and social injustices that disproportionately impact people of color. However, as they boldly fight to change the world, nonprofits should assess their own institutions and recognize their flaws.

Join us on April 21 with Joelle Murchison, Associate Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer at The University of Connecticut, for a conversation about Strategies for Achieving Diversity on Nonprofit Boards.

Althea Bates is the founder of Project Resiliency Movement. The movement’s mission is to encourage and empower women of color in areas of self-care related to mental, physical and emotional health while providing connectivity and supports to other women of color through resiliency circles, conferences, workshops and seminars.

On Saturday, September 24 - MIP members and partners joined together for our first Coffee Connections event. The theme - Coping with Feelings of Racial and Social Injustice in the Workplace - explored the strategies used by people of color and nonprofit agencies to navigate the workplace during trying times.

Our friends at Public Allies CT are looking for organizations to host an ally beginning in September 2016. Public Allies is the premier pipeline for developing diverse and talented nonprofit and community leaders with a long-term investment in community leadership.

Partnership benefits :

•Allies are diverse, passionate young people seeking to make a change in their communities and develop their own leadership in the process
•Allies provide capacity building services to a variety of nonprofit organizations across the state; they are on site at host organizations for at least 32 hours/week
•The cost to host an Ally is $14,300
•Public Allies handles all of the HR needs, including recruitment, on-boarding, Ally payroll, health insurance. We invoice our partners monthly or in another agreed upon pay structure.

Next Steps: If you are interested in hosting, please fill out an "interest form" at http://partner.publicallies.org to initiate the process. From here, they will work with you to develop a position description and schedule interviews with some of our finalists.

In Pennsylvania, the private nonprofit sector employs almost 15 percent of the state’s workforce, more than any other sector. In Philadelphia and surrounding counties, employment in private nonprofits is closer to 40 percent. A 2013 study by Nonprofit HR Solutions found only 32 percent of U.S. nonprofits reflect the diversity of the communities they serve in hiring and promotional practices

The Voice of Nonprofit Talent: Perceptions of Diversity in the Workplace report focuses on one of the most significant challenges faced by the nonprofit sector—building and sustaining diverse organizations. The nonprofit sector’s collective ability to attract, retain, and advance people of color determines the quality of talent and directly impacts our ability to meet our respective missions.

In observing best practices from all corners of the business world, Rahsaan Harris, president and CEO of the Emma Bowen Foundation, has seen firsthand what does and doesn't work in facilitating diversity and inclusion

Many of us are alarmed by the events in Ferguson, but is our sector perpetuating the same lack of representation fueling that community’s unrest? We can respond to Michael Brown’s death and Darren Wilson’s exoneration through marches and organizing, but we would be hypocrites to ignore the disparity within our own ranks.